Animals!
Today's daytime excursions were in Ueno, the most museum-happy of Tokyo. First was the National Science Museum, where I got one of those headphone guide devices because all the text on the exhibits was in Japanese. I spent the bulk of my time checking out the sections on animal life, both prehistoric and current. I was impressed by the depth and quality of their exhibits, which include some unique specimens like the Columbian Mammoth of which I took a photograph. I ended my visit to that museum by checking out the technology section, which highlights the scientific interactions between Japan and other countries throughout history. While the museum is proud of the significant technological contributions of Japan to the world, I noticed that it does not shy away from giving other countries credit either.
Having spent a few hours learning about zoology, it was only appropriate that my next stop was the Tokyo Zoo, where I was pleased to see that the elephants were very affectionate with each other. The tiger, however, seems to have turned vegetarian as he's the skinniest tiger I've ever seen. More distressing still were the cramped quarters in which the poor hippo and giraffe are housed. I don't understand why some animals are treated to expansive and well-designed living areas while others languish in cramped cages.
